Turkish International Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday stated Ankara has “completely lower” commerce with Israel and closed Turkey’s airspace to Israeli planes, although Israeli airways stated they obtained no new directions.
A Turkish diplomatic supply later clarified that Fidan solely meant Israeli authorities flights and flights carrying weapons to Israel could be barred from Turkey’s skies.
“The minister’s feedback seek advice from official Israeli flights and flights carrying weapons or ammunition to Israel. This doesn’t apply to transit business flights,” the supply stated.
The clarification got here after Israeli officers earlier advised The Instances of Israel that they believed Fisan was merely laying out, with some inaccuracies, actions Turkey already took in opposition to Israel over the warfare in opposition to Hamas in Gaza.
“We have now completely lower our commerce with Israel, we’ve closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we’re not permitting Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan advised a rare parliamentary session on Israel’s assaults on the Strip.
“We aren’t permitting container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to enter our airspace,” he added, with out giving particulars.
Fidan additionally stated Turkey was set to hold out airdrops of help to Gaza. “Our planes are prepared; as soon as Jordan provides its approval, we can be able to go,” he advised lawmakers.
The Israeli authorities didn’t instantly touch upon Fidan’s remarks, which got here a day after Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reported that an Israeli raid in the Damascus area in a single day Wednesday-Thursday dismantled Turkish surveillance units meant to watch Israel.
Turkish International Minister Hakan Fidan speaks on the Grand Nationwide Meeting of Turkey in Ankara on August 29, 2025. (Handout / Turkish International Ministry / AFP)
Responding to Fidan’s assertion, Hamas urged “Turkey, in addition to Arab and Islamic international locations and the free nations of the world, to escalate punitive measures in opposition to [Israel]” and “sever all relations with it, and work to isolate it — to compel it to halt the genocide and destruction of Gaza.”
Regardless of Fidan’s assertion, Israeli airplanes have been nonetheless working in Turkish airspace on Friday and obtained no directions to do in any other case, Military Radio reported.
“Following reviews about Turkey’s determination to shut its airspace to Israeli planes, Arkia is in touch with the related authorities,” the Israeli airline advised The Instances of Israel. “At this stage, no operational directions have been obtained.”
Israir additionally advised The Instances of Israel that “the airspace has not been closed.”
“Our flights are working as scheduled with no adjustments, and we’re in common contact with the Civil Aviation Authority,” stated the service.
Protesters maintain Palestinian flags throughout a protest at Haydarpasa’s Port in Istanbul, Turkey, December 1, 2024. (Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
Transport sources already advised Reuters final week that Turkish port authorities had began informally requiring delivery brokers to supply letters declaring that vessels should not linked to Israel and never carrying army or hazardous cargo sure for the nation.
A supply had additionally stated that Turkish-flagged ships could be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports.
Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, a Turkey knowledgeable at Tel Aviv College’s Moshe Dayan Heart for Center Japanese and African Research, nonetheless thought-about Fidan’s newest assertion to be credible and dramatic.
“Turkey is adopting a gradual punishment technique in opposition to Israel,” stated Yanarocak. “When Israel declared its intention to launch an invasion of Gaza Metropolis, Ankara imposed naval sanctions that barred Israeli ships from visiting Turkish ports. And at the moment, following information that the IDF launched an extraterritorial raid in opposition to Syrian military outposts, the place Turkey had intelligence units to trace the actions of Israeli troops, Ankara made a brand new determination and shut down its airspace to Israeli planes.”
“This transfer is definitely unprecedented, and it’ll not be straightforward to reverse sooner or later,” he stated.
Turkey, a number one supporter of Hamas, has been one of many harshest critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, proper, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, shake arms throughout their assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, April 20, 2024. (Turkish Presidency by way of AP)
Final yr, Turkey stated it was stopping all exports and imports to and from Israel, although some are stated to have quietly continued.
The 2 international locations had a commerce quantity of $6.8 billion in 2023, and Turkey was Israel’s fifth-largest supply of imported items. Israel and Turkey have free commerce agreements from the mid-Nineties that at the moment are being abrogated.
Istanbul had additionally lengthy been a preferred vacation spot for Israeli vacationers, lots of whom traveled on Turkish Airways and used Turkey’s Atatürk Airport as a less expensive choice for connecting flights to locations in Europe and elsewhere.
Earlier than the Hamas bloodbath in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the warfare in Gaza, Turkish Airways was the fourth-largest service at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. In April, Turkish carriers waived their flight slots on the airport.
Sharon Wrobel and Instances of Israel workers contributed to this report.
